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Stephen schrieb:
> On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:38:02 -0700, Darren New <dne### [at] san rrcom> wrote:
>
>> andrel wrote:
>>> another example of how the Americans have destroyed a culture.
>> Hey, you want to be able to spell properly, *you* invent computers. ;-)
>
> Now here's me thinking that it was the Brits who invented the first modern
> (programmable) computer. With the Bombe being built at Bletchley Park.
Ahem...
- The "Turing-Bombe" was a primarily /mechanical/ device.
- It was, despite its name, not Turing-complete.
- It was not even programmable; rather, it was designed /exclusively/ to
break the Enigma cipher.
- Even its 1943 successor, "Colossus", was not Turing-complete, and
programmable only by re-wiring.
Konrad Zuse, anyone?
- Filed two important patents in 1937, already describing all elements
of the Von-Neumann architecture.
- Built a mechanical computer prototype (Zuse Z1) in 1938
- Finished an electric binary computer in May 1941, which was
programmable via punch tape, and Turing-complete.
The only thing about "modern" computers Zuse cannot claim to have
invented is the /electronic/ computer, as his Zuse Z3 used relays and is
therefore consodered electromechanic. And multiple of his inventions
appear to have been made independently(?) by others - but still the Z3
was the only one to have them /all/.
Programmable computers? A German invention.
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Stephen schrieb:
> I remember seeing a machine in Paisley museum that used recognisable punch cards
> (IIRC about 18" X 24") from the 19th Century. Its output was woven cloth. So (as
> usual) we Scots were there first (if you don't count the Chinese, who did
> everything first). :P
Well, granted, you Scots were no doubt the first to do graphics
programming... :-P
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smc### [at] csccom schrieb:
> When we introduced English to the world we did it at the point of a gun
> and with gunboat diplomacy. The American method was more economic,
> supplying cheap(ish) computer products and English language films.
> Somehow that seems more acceptable to people at large.
Interestingly, the USA /almost/ went for German as their national
language (because they had difficulties agreeing on either English or
French, AFAIK :-P)
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clipka wrote:
> Programmable computers? A German invention.
Programmable *electronic* computers? Maybe.
Perhaps you're forgetting a certain Charles Babbage, who designed a
Turing-complete mechanical computer _several hundred_ years earlier. (I
will admit, however, that it was never actually *built*.)
As I originally asserted: The modern computer really cannot be
attributed to any one single individual. It was a team effort, over a
period of several centuries...
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On Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:11:09 +0200, clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
>so the Dutch "ij" issue seems to me not
>so much a problem of "American imperialism", but laziness on the Dutch
>side to /maintain/ their culture.
When I was working Croatia getting a UK keyboard was a problem as the standard
one was designed Slovak languages.
--
Regards
Stephen
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On Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:54:01 +0200, clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
>Stephen schrieb:
>
>> I remember seeing a machine in Paisley museum that used recognisable punch cards
>> (IIRC about 18" X 24") from the 19th Century. Its output was woven cloth. So (as
>> usual) we Scots were there first (if you don't count the Chinese, who did
>> everything first). :P
>
>Well, granted, you Scots were no doubt the first to do graphics
>programming... :-P
--
Regards
Stephen
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On Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:58:11 +0200, clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
>smc### [at] csccom schrieb:
>> When we introduced English to the world we did it at the point of a gun
>> and with gunboat diplomacy. The American method was more economic,
>> supplying cheap(ish) computer products and English language films.
>> Somehow that seems more acceptable to people at large.
>
>Interestingly, the USA /almost/ went for German as their national
>language (because they had difficulties agreeing on either English or
>French, AFAIK :-P)
I believe there was only one vote in it.
--
Regards
Stephen
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On Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:51:14 +0200, clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
>Ahem...
>
>- The "Turing-Bombe" was a primarily /mechanical/ device.
So! When I started working for Burroughs Machines circa 1972 they were still
manufacturing (desk size) electro mechanical adding machines marketed as
computers.
--
Regards
Stephen
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Stephen wrote:
> So! When I started working for Burroughs Machines circa 1972 they were still
> manufacturing (desk size) electro mechanical adding machines marketed as
> computers.
Hehe... When I was at school, one of the teachers paid something like
trivial wordprocessor program in ROM, and when you press a button, it
types the whole lot out onto paper using the integrated dot-matrix (!!)
printer.
It was the very height of technology. I mean, sure you can't actually
save your work, only print it. But it's so much better than a typewriter
because you can edit before you print!
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clipka wrote:
> where we'd replace some rarely-used characters with the
> German umlauts,
I'm pretty sure this is why Americans call "#" the "pound sign." It's on the
keyboard in the same place the Brits put their currency marker.
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".
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